Communities Matter @ the West Chicago Public Library District

The community of West Chicago engaged in a book discussion of "To Kill a Mockingbird" as part of the Library's kick-off event celebrating National Library Week.Shelley Campbell

Shelley Campbell, Public Relations Specialist

This week, the West Chicago Public Library District joins libraries in communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers.

Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources. Often the heart of their communities, libraries are deeply committed to the places where their patrons live, work, and study. They have become trusted places where everyone in the community can gather to reconnect and re-engage with each other to enrich and shape the community and address local issues.

Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students, and the public at large to discover what their community's needs are and to meet them. Whether through offering e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or to support early literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve and they respond.

"Service to the community has always been the focus of our Library," said Melody E. Coleman, Administrative Librarian. "While this aspect has never changed, libraries have grown and evolved in how they provide for the needs of every member of their community."

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries across the country each April. The West Chicago Public Library District kicked off its celebration of National Library Week with a film screening and book discussion, in honor of the late Mayor Michael Kwasman, engaging the community in a discussion of the story's themes of justice, equality, and coming-of-age.

For more information, visit the West Chicago Public Library at 118 West Washington Street, call (630) 231-1552, or see the library's web site at www.westchicago.lib.il.us.